Familiar Situations
by Bronwyn Fox
Summary: Another heist goes bad and Alec and Max run into trouble. Really bad summary. Hopefully the story is better. Sorry.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay, so this is my first (and probably only) DA fic. I don't own anything; I'm just having some fun. Let me know if it's horrible so I can be sure not to add anything to it. And thanks for reading, whether or not you review.

"It'll just be a simple pick-up," Alex growled in Max's direction as they watched the familiars nearing them. "I'm pretty sure those were your exact words."

"So I was wrong. It's not like it happens very often," she snapped back, her muscles tensing for the fight she knew was coming.

It was true; a few short hours ago, Max had dragged Alec out of Crash so he would cover her back on this operation. She hadn't told him what they were getting. She had only said it was a favor for Logan. Truthfully, this was as much of a lie as anything else. Max was well aware that they were picking up the cure for the virus, and yet she had made it sound like something more pressing. She now held the vial in her hand, determined not to let it go. She had waited far too long, put forth far too much effort, to lose it now.

Alec had been upset when he'd finally figured out what they were risking their lives for, but he hadn't had the explosive reaction that Max had been preparing for. He actually took it in stride, and eventually even shrugged it off. He risked his life for lesser things all the time, he'd said.

Max had just taken a strangely fond look at her companion when the attack came. Max and Alec knew they couldn't win against twelve familiars at once. They had to bide their time until they could find a suitable retreat. But after a few minutes of constant punching, kicking, and flipping, it was apparent that an opening was not going to present itself. The transgenics were starting to tire, and the familiars still couldn't feel any of the pain that had been inflicted on them. Alec hissed at Max that she should run, but hoped deep in his heart she wouldn't leave him there.

Instead of ditching him or even turning to run, she went down hard when she failed to block a high kick that hit her in the side of the head. It was only a second, but it was more than enough to give the other familiars the opening they needed. She got back to her feet after a spinning kick that would have impressed anyone at Manticore, and then she knew she was still in trouble.

In an ultimate act of trust, Max tossed the vial containing her precious cure into the air toward Alec as she went down. Alec did _not_ want to lose the vial. He saw it coming down past where he was and turned back to run for it. He tripped over two people and his concentration on the piece of plastic cost him a bruising blow to one of his kidneys, but he shrugged it off. It would have to wait until later.

He jumped up when he saw the cure almost sailing over the fence, and his fingers closed around it just in time. Before he could sigh in relief, though, something heavy – another familiar, or perhaps the same one that had punched him on his way over – slammed into him hard. His body hit the top of the fence with enough velocity to go over, the wires slicing painfully through shirt and skin. Then, Alec was quickly reminded that there was a long drop on the other side of the fence – the edge of the roof.

And he dropped.

He reached blindly for something to grab onto to slow his fall, but his refusal to let go of the vial cost him a good hold. His fingers got twisted in the links of the chain fence and snapped. Recoiling from the shock of that, he tried to twist and succeeded only in jamming his knee into the wall.

This whole drop lasted less than five seconds, but to Alec (and Max, for that matter, who had seen him go over), it was an eternity. He had tucked the vial close to himself and moved so his body would protect the precious liquid when he hit the ground. There was an exploding agony in his body for a brief moment at the initial impact but then there was blissful darkness, which carried his pain away.

Max's heart dropped through her stomach when she saw her partner in crime go over the fence. Her fear somehow turned into adrenalin, as she now felt only an unignorable **need** to see if he was still alive. This drive made her temporarily stronger than the four familiars that she was fighting. The battle, which had previously been going on for a while, was over in seconds. She rushed to the door and headed for the stairs, knowing her best chance of saving Alec's life was to actually be there at his side. She had never even paused to look down at him.

Four flights of stairs in 58 seconds was fast even for a transgenic (although it was true that Alec had made the descent far quicker than she did). Max might have been impressed with herself if she had taken the time to think about it. All she knew was that he had dropped more than 58 seconds ago and that was far too long for him to be out of her sight after that. She burst out of the building and easily spotted the dark form lying on the ground.

He was obviously unconscious. Blood matted the side of his body where the fence had viciously shredded his skin on his way over, and he clearly had some broken bones, possibly even some internal bleeding, but what mattered was that he was alive. Max's hands roamed over his body as she checked him out, stopping when she got to his right hand, which was tightly clenched. Gently, she pried his fingers open and found the perfectly preserved vial. She had completely forgotten about it.

She tucked the cure into her pocket and then ever so softly tapped Alec's cheek, not completely positive that he wasn't hurt there, too. His head rolled in the direction of her tap, and she found more blood on the side of his face. Great -- he probably had a concussion, too. She managed to roll her eyes, ignoring the wetness that was suddenly there.

"Can't you do anything halfway, Pretty Boy?" she asked with as much sarcasm as she could muster in the situation.

Max knew she could carry him for a while, but also knew he shouldn't be moved as carelessly as he would have to be for her to carry him. Her ears then picked up two noises -- one coming from the building itself, where the enemies she had dangerously left alone were coming after them again; and the other coming from the darkness to her other side. It was Mole's voice, and she had never been so glad to hear it.

"Alec?" he called out fearlessly. "Max?"

"Here!" she answered without hesitation, and Mole and Joshua materialized in her sight far sooner than they would have in an ordinary's limited vision. "Help him," she half-ordered, half-begged. Joshua knelt down and very gently scooped the injured transgenic into his arms, all three of them cringing at the pain-induced moan that was wrenched from Alec unconsciously when he was moved.

"Medium fella hurt bad?" Joshua said, more to himself than anyone else. But Max needed to answer, anyway.

"Yeah," she said unnecessarily. "Bad."

"He'll be fine," Mole ground out in a rough tone, and both of his companions recognised it for what it really was -- sincere concern for a friend. That wasn't something the lizard man displayed very often.

"Of course he will," Joshua asserted as he walked toward the van Mole had stolen in order to get the two transgenics. The others weren't sure if he actually believed that or if he was trying to convince himself. Either way, Mole shrugged and climbed into the driver's seat. Joshua and his precious burden got into the back. Max was torn between riding shotgun or staying with Alec, in spite of the fact that there was nothing she could do to help. And she knew they had to hurry because she heard the door of the building slam open.

"Stay with him," Mole snapped from the front. "But at least get inside."

She permitted herself a smile and obeyed, shutting the door just as the van lurched forward. She knelt next to the dog man, huddled over one of their closest friends. Relief washed over her as she realised they were safe . . . until her eyes fell on Alec's face and she saw blood dripping slowly from the corner of his mouth. She knew he hadn't been punched there and it wasn't bleeding when he first woke up. That meant the blood was coming from somewhere else.

He was bleeding internally.


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE: Everyone, thank you so much for your kind reviews! I wasn't going to finish the story but I felt like I owed it to all of you great people who made me feel so good. So here's another chapter. Sorry it's short. I'll write more when I get the time, hopefully soon.

---------------------------------------

Pain.

It started in the toes and localised in the head. It was everywhere. And if she was feeling this uncomfortable from just sitting in this stupid plastic chair all night, Max could only imagine what Alec was feeling right now.

She had been assured many times over that he wasn't feeling any pain and wouldn't be until he woke up. But looking at him didn't convince her. He'd had to have surgery twice – once on his punctured lung and once on his not bruised but torn kidney. The kidney problem hadn't been discovered until a few hours after the first surgery, when Alec's condition didn't improve as much as it should have with his rapid transgenic healing abilities. So they'd cut him open.

Again.

Now he had gauze covering his entire torso, with 48 stitches from the gashes by the fence and 52 stitches from the combined surgeries. And 3 in his head. Max should know; her worry had her practically counting each one every five minutes for the first hour to make sure everything was as it should be.

She shouldn't complain. Really, 103 stitches, two surgeries, four broken fingers and six broken ribs, a punctured lung, a concussion, and heavy bruising, yet Alec was breathing on his own still. His big heart had kept beating the whole time, faltering occasionally and getting weaker, but they hadn't had to stick a tube down his throat or shock him back to life.

Max heard a groan from herself as she stretched, attempting to find a comfortable position without actually moving from the chair. She had already been sitting here for hours; she wasn't going to chance missing Alec when he woke up.

This realisation surprised her more than anything else. Max didn't have any sort of ties to Alec besides tentative friendship, so her feelings toward him both during their fight and currently at his bedside were unexpected. She had been getting the cure just to ensure that she could spend good, wholesome quality time with Logan, after all.

But Alec's selfless behaviour on the roof had thrown her off. She thought he'd be angry or unhelpful when he found out what he was taking the risk for, but he hadn't. He'd shrugged it off and continued to back her up, practically killing himself in a desperate attempt to save what he thought was her true happiness.

"I'm so confused," she whispered.

"Me too," a welcome, raspy voice muttered. It was at this point in her musings that Max realised the groan she'd heard earlier had not come from herself but from Alec, whose bleary eyes were turned in her direction.

"Alec!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and knocking the chair to the floor in her haste to get up. "You're awake!"

"Don' move so fst," he slurred with a visible wince. "Makin' me dizzzzy."

Max grinned in spite of herself. "Sorry," she replied. "Are you in pain?"

He squinted his eyes for a few seconds, as though seriously contemplating the answer to this question. "I think so," he answered, his voice dwindling to a whisper. He tried swallowing but ended up coughing, which brought the excruciating agony of his ordeal straight to the surface, and he panicked. It hurt to breathe, to blink, to do anything.

Max tried to soothe him, telling him to calm down, but eventually she knew he needed help. He didn't know how serious his injuries were, and judging from his confusion, his concussion probably prevented him from even understanding where he was or how he got there.

"Let me go find someone to give you pain medication and we'll have you feeling better in no time," she said, turning and running for the door.

Alec looked after her for a second before giving up the struggle to breathe. It was far too painful. The edges of his vision went black, the darkness slowly spreading inward until he could see nothing. And blissfully, his pain went away as his body went completely limp.

Max returned only moments later to check on her partner. He had fallen unconscious, and she waited patiently for the rise and fall of his chest that would indicate his steady breathing – the only thing that had been steady about him since he had been carried in by Joshua. It would have seemed unfair for him to have come through so much and then not take that breath, so she waited for it.

It didn't come.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: Thanks again for all of your reviews. This chapter is a bit angsty (with good reason – you'll see why) but I promise there will be more action later on. And if anyone ever feels like offering suggestions, I'm open to them.

------------------------

Large, cold drops of water pelted Max as she sat on the edge of the Space Needle. Normally this type of weather would have convinced her to go inside, out of the pouring rain. But she couldn't today; no, not when the last few days had been so full of heartache and grief.

Tears, an idea almost foreign to the transgenic, were flowing down her face, and she shook with each racking sob that hit her. She knew no one would see her like this, and that was why she came to this place. There was only one person that would ever find her up here, and – well, he definitely wouldn't be joining her.

Logan had been a solid source of comfort while she'd been struggling. Max had been forcefully removed from Alec's side because she was nearly in hysterics. And finally, Original Cindy and Logan had taken her home to rest. They didn't leave her side that night or the next morning. She knew this because she hadn't slept. Her emotions were far too raw to risk dreaming. She could only imagine the nightmares this would cause.

Eventually, she had taken the cure. She figured that Alec's sacrifice should at least be worth something. So she took the cure and experienced touching her boyfriend. She gave him a hug, and he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Before anything else could happen, she felt sobs welling up in her chest and she'd left. He was understanding. He always had been.

A few hours later, Max told Logan that she couldn't be with him. Yes, she knew it was pathetic that Alec had given everything so they could be together and she didn't want to be with him. But that was how it was. She wanted, now more than ever, to have her partner-in-crime sit next to her and crack an inappropriate joke, or to see his gold-flecked eyes sparkle as he chattered nonstop about nothing, or to watch him down alcohol in a futile attempt to get himself drunk. And thoughts like these made her permit herself a grin as she reminisced.

Alec's lack of breathing had been handled as efficiently as a bunch of rogue soldiers could handle that type of situation, but in the end it hadn't been enough. And for that, Max would forever blame herself. It was her fault that Manticore burned down. It was her fault that Alec was unleashed on the world. It was her fault they were trying to get the cure. It was her fault he'd jumped off the edge of the roof. And it was her fault that there hadn't been enough medical supplies to help him when he needed it. In the end, it was up to Alec himself as to whether or not he wanted to survive the ordeal.

The beeping of her pager drew Max out of her reverie and she looked at the number, fully expecting it to be Logan, but it wasn't. She got down from her precarious perch and went in search of a phone, finally using a pay phone so she knew the call wouldn't be traced.

"Max?" came the voice on the other end as soon as it was picked up.

"Yeah?" she asked haltingly, knowing it was one of the transgenics in Terminal City.

"We just thought you'd like to know that he looks like he's waking up again."

Max smiled. "Thanks. I'll be right there." She set the phone down and turned to her bike, still smiling.

She counted it a gift from a God she'd never known that Alec was still alive. He had apparently decided that he wanted to live and transgenics were nothing if not stubborn once they made up their minds. They had done everything they could to start his breathing again, but nothing had worked. And just when someone was ready to give up the efforts to keep him alive, Alec took in a very ragged breath on his own. He coughed, and he struggled to continue breathing, but the point was that he lived all on his own. They had given him oxygen and continued to monitor him for the last few days, and he had woken up briefly twice in that time. Max was there both times.

Logan was an amazing man – a caring man, a brilliant man, and a kind man. But Alex was an amazing_transgenic_, and while Max never used to think that mattered, she knew now that it did. At some point in their history, he had given up the selfish little boy routine and started acting like a man. No one could pinpoint when this happened. The important thing was that it did. And that, as much as anything else, was what endeared him to Max. He was, in reality, the very thing Logan had always feared him to be – competition. Alec won.

Max entered the quiet room with all the stealth she had so as not to wake him up if he hadn't already joined them again in the world of consciousness. She stood in the doorway for a few seconds, drinking in the sight of him as he lay helpless on the bed. His wounds were already healing from the extra genes that he'd been given, and he looked almost like he was simply sleeping.

"Take a picture," he suddenly mumbled, his voice raspy with disuse.

Max grinned again, walking across the room and sitting down next to him as his hazel eyes blearily opened. "A picture wouldn't talk back to me."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You always hate it when I open my mouth because you know something is going to come out."

"Yeah, but it also means I have a human punching bag, and I'd hate to have to replace it."

Alec rolled his eyes and smirked. "Good to know I mean something to you."

Silence filled the room, and the two transgenics were lost in their own thoughts. Finally, without letting herself ponder it, Max blurted, "IdumpedLoganforyou" in more of a jumbled mass of words than a sentence.

Her companion looked surprised, pausing to process what he'd just heard and be sure that it really happened, and opened his mouth to say something. However, before he could, the door to the room opened again and Dix was suddenly standing there. He was panting as though he'd been running.

"We've got a serious problem," he announced.


	4. Chapter 4

NOTE: Okay, I admit – this chapter is a bit odd and probably not really believable. But bear with me because I wanted to introduce some more action and intrigue and all that without taking too long to do it. It's already been a long time since I updated (sorry!) and hopefully I can get back to this sooner next time. Enjoy and try to look past the really bad plot for this chapter.

------------------------

"What's wrong?" Max asked, for once completely grateful that something wasn't going right in Terminal City. She couldn't ignore the look on Alec's face when she'd blurted out her confession but definitely didn't want to talk to him about it. He'd probably make fun or tell her she was insane. She was never very nice to him; why would he be interested in a relationship with her? The more she thought about it, the more she regretted saying it. She shook her head at herself.

"There's a whole bunch of familiars here," Dix grumbled. "I don't know how they found us, but Mole said they followed you guys in."

"They followed us in?" Alec repeated dumbly. "I'm sure I've been out longer than five minutes. Why didn't they attack before, like when we first got here?"

"Because there were only twelve of them," Max answered, her face showing annoyance even though her voice had none in it. "They would know they couldn't take out all of us. They'd wait for reinforcements."

"White."

Alec breathed the name out and then exhaled like it burned his lips just to say the hated word. No one needed to confirm or deny what he'd said; they all knew he was right. Finally, he shrugged and swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying unsuccessfully to hide the vertigo that washed over him when he did so.

"What are you doing?" Max asked.

"And all this time I thought we were given higher IQs," came the snarky response.

She rolled her eyes. "And why are you doing it?"

Alec looked up at her from where he was trying to stand, and when their eyes met, something tangible filled the air. None of them knew what it was, but one thing was for sure – Dix wanted to be anywhere else. He backed out slowly, though the other two people in the room wouldn't have noticed if he'd ridden a buffalo out.

"I have to . . . uh . . . fight with familiars," he muttered as he exited.

By this time, Alec was on his feet, one hand protectively covering his torso. "Where are my clothes?" he asked, breaking his gaze with TC's leader.

"You're not going anywhere."

The other transgenic ignored her, eyes quickly scanning the room for something he could wear that wasn't quite as airy as the thin scrubs he was currently clad in. Besides, as confident as he was with his body, he didn't enjoy the idea of wandering around without a shirt. But his belongings were not in sight. "My clothes, Maxie?" he said lightly, finally looking at her again.

She was glaring at him, hands folded across her hips. "No."

"I was actually unaware that what I just asked was a yes or no question."

"There's no way in the world I'm letting you go anywhere near familiars right now."

Alec raised his head in defiance. "You're not _letting_ me? When did this place become a dictatorship?"

"Alec, we almost lost you. You need to rest and relax and let yourself heal. You could die."

"And everyone else who's risking their lives right now could use a hand," he retorted. "If the two of us were to go help them, things might go a lot better."

Another staring contest began, and Max knew inside that she was going to cave. After all, Alec was right, and to make matters worse, what had started out as concern for him had somehow morphed into a power trip. She didn't know how that happened, but she knew it was wrong. She'd have to apologize . . . later.

Dix stepped into the room again, looked at both commanding officers, and shuddered. "Guys, I hate to interrupt – I really really do – but there's a bit of a stand-off going on out there and they insist they want to talk to you."

"Fine," Max said without turning. "I'll be right there."

"Not you," Dix interjected, causing both transgenics to look at him in surprise. "They said they wanted to speak to 494."

"What? Why?" Alec queried.

Dix shrugged. "But please hurry so no one dies." And with that, he scurried out of the room.

"I guess I'm definitely going now," Alec said as he headed for the door, right next to Max. "Can I have a shirt, or do you want me to talk to them like this?"

Max sighed in exasperation as she tossed him the shirt she'd been holding since she snatched his clothes off the table when she thought he might want to come with her. He grinned wickedly and pulled the cloth over his head, wincing with the movement.

"Aren't you even going to ask what stupid stunt I pulled this time?" the loquacious X5 asked as they walked.

"No."

"Not that I'm not grateful for that, but why not?"

"I saw the look on your face. You're probably more confused by this than I am."

He accepted that and they soon found themselves face to face with one of the familiars that had been fighting them on the roof. He had one of the transgenics from Terminal City in a headlock with one arm and a gun pointed just under her chin with the other.

"Ah, 452," a chilling voice said from behind the line of familiars. Every transgenic who had ever met him before recognised the voice and shuddered in disgust – White.

Max said nothing, throwing a meaningful look at her companion. Alec took the hint and said, "What, no greeting for the man you wanted to see in the first place?"

White stepped into view at that, an evil glint in his eye. "Oh, I'll get to you. Just be patient."

"Never one of my strong suits," Alec countered easily, before White could speak to Max again. "Anyway, I'm tired, so if you have something to say, spit it out."

"The thing is that I didn't actually want to talk to you," White said. "I wanted to talk to her. But I needed to make sure you were both here."

"Why?" Max asked, speaking for the first time.

"Because 494 needs to come with me in exchange for this ingrate's life," he answered, gesturing without looking at the scared transgenic that was being held captive. "I'm making a deal with you."

"Why can't I make a deal for my own life?" Alec asked, sounding almost like a petulant child.

"Shut up," Max growled under her breath. To White, she said, "What kind of deal are we talking here?"

"I let him go, and 494 comes with me. End of story."

"What happened to you wanting me?" she continued. "You used to have quite the fond spot for me."

"I'll get you, too – but I need him now. Take it or leave it. Either someone is going to die here today, or someone is going to leave with me today. Your decision."

"I don't understand what you're pulling," Alec murmured. "But there's no way you're killing him right now."

"Alec, no!" Max hissed. "What are you doing?"

He took a few steps forward and tossed off the hand she had put out to stop him. "I'm saving the kid's life," he answered. "I'm sure you'll be there to rescue me. You always are."

"This was easier than I expected," White said evilly. "Let the kid go."

The familiar grunted his displeasure but dropped the transgenic he'd been holding as soon as Alec was near him. Max had followed him over, but even she couldn't stop what happened next. White pulled a dart gun from his pocket and shot Alec in the neck. He had a momentary look of surprise before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed bonelessly, only to be scooped up by the familiar. The gun was instantly at his head, unconscious though he was.

"What_was_ that?" Mole asked softly. "That stuff took him down in less than a second."

"A new concoction, made specially for 494," White answered even though he knew the question was directed at him. "Like it? 452 here probably wants some for herself. I know how obnoxious he can be."

"What –" Max began but was cut off immediately.

"No one follows us," White announced. "And no one gets hurt."

The transgenic was too shocked to react. She just stood there, watching them drag her limp partner away from her, coldly not caring if they jostled his injuries. In fact, she was still standing long after all of the familiars had retreated and Joshua had come to see if she was okay.

"Little fella?" he said gently, and Max jerked as she came back to herself. "We rescue Alec?"

"Yeah," she muttered. "We hope whatever White gave him and whatever they're doing to him isn't lethal."

_But what in the world did they want Alec so badly for?_


	5. Chapter 5

Alec woke to a number of odd sensations. Normally, he was highly alert whenever he woke up, but this time he felt like he was trying to swim to the surface after a dive in the ocean that was too deep. He couldn't remember what had happened before he fell asleep. That was unusual, too. But he figured maybe he had just had too much to drink and somehow managed to get himself drunk in spite of his feline-charged high metabolism.

Finally feeling some sparking desire to know where he was, Alec told his eyes to open. After a few seconds of waiting he realised that either he had gone blind since the last time he was awake, or his eyelids had refused his command. He put his hand up to his face to feel his eyes . . . or at least, he tried. His hand also disobeyed him. Confused now, he tried to at least wrinkle his forehead in thought, but even that was apparently beyond his grasp currently.

Well, he could still feel. All of his limbs seemed to be intact, and nothing was holding him down. He could feel a dull ache coming from many parts of his body, but the pain didn't register in his brain like he knew it should. He tried to shrug and failed.

His sense of smell was working fine, too. He could smell chemicals and a few people that he didn't recognise. Then an all-too familiar scent wafted into his nose.

White.

His muscles involuntarily tried to shudder at the odor but couldn't. And at that moment, everything came crashing back down on him. He remembered jumping off the building to save Max's cure. He remembered her confession, and he remembered very clearly that he had traded himself to White to save some kid's life. Alec knew instinctively that he was very helplessly lying in White's control. And he couldn't help it—

His breath hitched.

"Finally awake, 494," White's voice said, filtering in over Alec's consciousness. So obviously his hearing was working, too. "You're probably a bit concerned about your state of health at the moment," White continued, sounding closer than before. "Let me assure you that I cooked this up myself. It's kind of like a specific-DNA charged rohypnol on steroids. Actually it's not kind of like that. It IS that."

White paused, and Alec tried to will himself to remain calm. His body may not be outwardly responding to him, but he could at least control his breathing. He could almost _feel_ White grinning at him.

"In case your eidetic memory allowed you to forget what that is, it's a date rape drug that has been specially formulated to affect your DNA. Obviously it had to be enhanced so you wouldn't metabolise it before it was useful. It keeps you perfectly pliant while I do whatever I want to you. What, no belligerent comment? Oh yeah, you_can't_."

_But oh, how I would like to_, Alec thought to himself, a number of surprisingly witty but rude comments flitting through his brain.

"Don't worry, though; Max will come for you eventually. She'll watch me do horrific things to you and she'll understand that I can control any transgenic whose DNA I have. And then she and I will come to an agreement. You'll die, but then that will give me great pleasure and I'll win both ways."

Alec tried to roll his eyes . . . and failed again. How long did this stupid drug last?

------------------------

"We'll find him," Mole said for the fiftieth time. "Just stop wearing a hole in the floor."

"White could have done any number of things to him by now. And he was already weak from his injuries. And he was drugged," Max retorted, continuing her nervous pacing across the room.

"Yes, yes, all true. But what you're doing right now is not helpful to him in any way."

Max abruptly stopped pacing as she realised he was right. And that didn't mean she couldn't argue with him just for the sake of arguing. "Well, I don't have anything else to do that _would_ be helpful to him. And I find my pacing is making me feel better." L_iar._

"We've got a phone call for you, Max," Dix announced suddenly.

She hadn't even heard it ring. Maybe she needed to take a step back before she lost her head. Until then, though, she snatched up the receiver. "What?" she snapped irritably.

"Aw, come on, 452 – is that any way to talk to the man who has your breeding partner?" came the chilling voice on the other end of the line.

"Actually, yeah, it is. What do you want?"

"I have a proposition for you."

"Sorry, White. I'm not interested in you like that."

She heard the hint of an annoyed sigh. But then her nemesis resumed control over himself and went on. "Do you want to know how to get your boyfriend back or not?"

"I'm listening," she replied, folding her free arm across her chest and turning around to lean against the wall. It was then that she noticed that every single transgenic in Terminal City was awaiting the answer with as much concern as she was. They all cared. She turned around again, unable to look at them without getting emotional.

"As you know, 452, I'm still interested in getting my son back. Oh, and I would also like revenge because I hate you."

"That's so sweet. Are you going somewhere with this?"

"This drug that I injected into 494 is very special – catered just to his DNA. He's helpless until I stop giving it to him. And the withdrawals after that are going to be pretty horrific. I can make these drugs for any of you animals that I want to."

"So what is it that you actually want?" Max forced herself to ask, though inside she felt like she had turned to jelly. What would happen to Alec? Was he hurt?

"I want you to come down here and make a deal with me. We'll discuss it more when you're here. I'll give you ten minutes to get here, and then every minute after that is a minute I get to spend torturing your precious 494."

"Wait – let me talk to him," she begged. She hadn't meant for it to sound like begging, but at the thought of White hurting Alec more than he already was, she couldn't stop herself.

"Sorry, 452. He is unable to talk to you right now. But I bet I know how to get him to make a sound," he said, and she could hear the evil grin on his face as he said it.

"Don't –"

She was interrupted by a loud noise and then a pathetic whimper of pain. She had no idea what they'd done to him, but she would know that whimper anywhere. It was definitely Alec. "Where are you?" she spat out.

"You'll figure it out, 452. You're a bright girl, especially when you're properly motivated. Ten minutes."

Before Max could say anything else, the line was disconnected.

------------------------

NOTE: The reviews dropped off a lot from the first couple of chapters. I'll keep posting, but I have to wonder if I've done something wrong. Let me know if it's bad, and I'll try to actually reply to reviews if I get time. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

"She's pretty worried for your safety, 494," White said as he hung up the phone and turned to his captive. "I'm betting it will take her only an hour or two to get here."

Alec glowered but refused to give White the satisfaction of attempting to answer. There was no way in the world that Max or anyone else could get to them in ten minutes, and White knew it. But Max would still beat herself up over it when she finally arrived and found her partner beaten half to death.

The good news in all of this was that Alec now found himself physically capable of glaring, and he was going to make the most of it. His body generally still refused to obey him but he'd take being able to give White dirty looks for now.

"I see my medication is wearing off," White said with an amused grin as he watched his prisoner glare dolefully. "The question I have to ask myself now is whether I should give it to you and keep you helpless or not give it to you and watch you writhe in pain. Decisions, decisions."

There was definitely pain. Already Alec could feel his muscles tensing as his nerve endings gave off small jolts to the rest of his body. He knew instinctively that he'd twitch or curl up on himself if it was possible.

"First there's the pain," White went on, oblivious to the thoughts going through his captive's head. "Then there's the nausea and vertigo. After that, you get a neural overload that sends you into a horrible fit if you happen to be prone to seizures. Oh, that's right – you are. My mistake. Of course, since all of your nerves will be in hyper-drive, anyone or anything that touches you will cause you intense pain. Eventually, you have to die because your body shut itself down. Even your genetic healing capabilities won't be able to save you from the most horrific death you can imagine."

He paused to look at Alec with disgust and contempt. "As much fun as it is to sit here and have a conversation with myself about your unpleasant but timely death, I think it would be more fun to watch you squirm in pain. I'm going to hold back on the drug, at least until I watch some of the effects of it. It's much better torture than anything I could have done to you with knives or whips or fists or guns. Poetic justice, really – you were created in a tube to kill and something created in a tube will kill you."

Alec felt a muscle in his arm twitch, causing his shirt to move on his arm. In surprise, he almost failed to suppress a groan as the normally-soft cotton felt more like a knife slicing through his sensitive skin. He would have stopped moving completely to avoid repeating the sensation, except as his control over his body returned, cramped muscles started to twitch involuntarily.

He found himself grateful he could close his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the pain.

------------------------

It turned out that it _was_ surprisingly easy to find out where White was holding Alec. Max had spent the first three minutes in a very uncharacteristic panic, and when Mole managed to calm her down, Dix had somehow traced the call from White. Their arch-nemesis had stayed on the line just long enough for them to get a trace. With that, Max, Mole, Joshua, Dalton, and four others set out to rescue their friend. Almost everyone in TC had volunteered to go, but Max selected the fastest, strongest, and most loyal. She had a feeling they would need all they had to get out of this one intact . . . if that was even possible at this point.

It had been 47 minutes and 43 seconds since White had terminated his phone call with Max when the group showed up at the desired location. Max had been counting every single second. And though he would never admit it out loud, so had Mole. They were all anxious and angry – not a good combination for transgenics. Max had even temporarily revoked her no-guns policy for this occasion.

The group burst through the front door of the warehouse without slowing. They were surprised to find nothing but a table in the center of the large room, where Alec lay trembling, head turned away from them. He had not been restrained and was obviously conscious, so they couldn't figure out why he wasn't trying to escape. Nevertheless, while the other seven in the group cautiously stepped forward, Max ran to him.

"Alec!" she shouted as she neared him. "Are you okay?" Her gentle hands went straight to his cheeks, turning his head so she could see his face.

His whole body seemed to recoil at her touch, and she felt like she had been slapped at his unconscious rejection of her. Alec's eyes were scrunched up tight, and a mewl of pain slipped unbidden out of his lips. Max was confused by his reaction. He didn't look like he'd been beaten. What was going on? She lifted up his shirt to see if he had more injuries than when he had first been abducted but could see nothing other than his muscles shivering.

"Stop touching him," Mole snapped suddenly from his position at the door. "You're not helping."

"I didn't hurt him," she argued, leaving one hand on Alec's cheek.

"Medium fella hurt bad," Joshua put in, and Max turned her attention back to the man on the table.

"From what?" she asked aloud.

"Withdrawals," White's voice said from a dark corner of the warehouse, where he and his minions were waiting. "You're late."

"I got here as soon as I could."

"I know." He grinned evilly. "Where's my son?"

"How do you stop the withdrawals?" Max countered. "Alec isn't even lucid."

"Actually, that's the best part, 452 – he's completely lucid. He can hear and feel and even see if he wanted to open his eyes. I doubt he'll be doing that any time soon, though."

"What did you do to him?" Mole snapped.

"I told you. It was a drug made specially for him. He's in a lot of pain right now thanks to my creative scientists. Now tell me where my son is or he'll be in more pain."

Max blanched. She couldn't give Ray up to White no matter what they did to Alec. But she couldn't just sit here and watch him suffer, either. Her indecision cost her.

White ripped his gun out and shot, the sound echoing in the large building as Alec's body flew off the table with the impact of the bullet. None of his friends saw where he'd been hit. All they knew was that when he landed on the ground without moving to break his fall, he let out a primal yell of pain. He sounded like he was dying.

And he was.

------------------------

NOTE: Sorry for the long delay, everyone. Life happened. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to all of the people who took the time to review the last chapter. You really helped me feel better about continuing this story!


	7. Chapter 7

Everything should have been going according to White's plan. Unfortunately for him, though, transgenics never go down easily, even on their last breath. Never.

Yes, Alec was dying, ever-so-painfully. And when the bullet had hit his over-sensitised skin, he'd wished he could just hurry up and be dead. But when he hit the ground and realised that he was laying on something that was digging into already agonising nerves, he had an idea.

The X-5 had no idea where he had been shot. Everything hurt to much to pin down the exact spot. He was dimly aware of people shouting in the room, and he figured a fight would break out at any moment.

Alec managed to slide one hand underneath his body to the object, which was just below his right hip. He tugged it out very slowly and pulled it up to his face. He was in no condition to look down and see what it was, and in fact, he really didn't care. All that mattered was perfecting this one move. He would have to use every last ounce of energy to do it, but at least Max and whoever she'd dragged into this mess with her would be safe.

He gathered himself up, taking deep, steadying breaths, surged to his feet, and threw the object he was holding with all of his remaining strength.

The agony alone caused the darkness to consume him before he saw what happened or hit the ground.

------------------------

Max had been speechless when she saw Alec fly off the table he was laying on. She was so horrified he was dead that she didn't move or speak or anything until she heard White's voice again, cutting through her thoughts.

"Too bad about 494," he said with a sneer. "I actually enjoyed watching him suffer."

At that moment, Max came back to herself. Whether or not Alec was dead, this horrible man had to pay. She'd never wanted revenge so badly in her entire life. Eyes flashing an almost feral yellow, she slowly turned her head back to White.

"I'm going to kill you," she said in the same tone of voice with which she would have casually greeted a friend.

"Not so fast, 452," he snapped back, gun still out and to the ready. "I need to know where my son is."

"We're not going to tell you, freak," Mole spat out.

White bristled. Coming from the trans-human, the insult was more than he could bear. "You're the freak!" he shouted.

Mole snorted and shook his head in what might have been termed pity. It served to make White even more angry.

"Take it back!" he yelled.

When no answer was forthcoming, White raised his gun to shoot. At that point he didn't care who he shot. All he knew was that the men behind him were doing the same thing. With any luck, they would each pick a different target, but it didn't matter so long as someone died.

If he had put more thought into his actions, the whole situation could have turned out very different. White had men in every corner of the dark warehouse, with weapons trained on the people who were trying so desperately to save 494. But he wasn't thinking clearly. His only thoughts were of finding his son and killing the freaks that had ruined his life. So he aimed at the nearest figure – 452.

Max knew she was caught. She was angry and ferocious but she wasn't completely stupid. Her enhanced hearing had picked up the people everywhere in the room and she knew they were all in trouble unless something happened. White's gun came up in her direction and she fought the urge to close her eyes against her own death. A soft sigh of acceptance filled the room as those with her also realised their plight.

That was why what happened next took everyone by surprise.

Alec popped up from the floor like toast coming out of a toaster. He shot up, threw something, and collapsed bonelessly back to the ground. Max didn't know what he'd thrown, but she took advantage of the moment and prayed her fellow nomalies did, too. Thankfully, they all did.

Max blurred to White and was fighting him before he had a chance to pull the trigger. She viciously kicked the gun away from him, satisfied when she heard the crunch of bones in his hand. Then she dove at him and they both went down in a tangle of limbs.

Meanwhile, Mole, Dalton, and the other four had spread out to attack the others in the room. Everyone was fighting, it seemed.

Except Joshua. He had slipped over to his best friend's unconscious body to make sure he was still alive. Alec's pulse was fast and unsteady. His breathing was shallow and rapid, as though his body was having trouble functioning. Joshua didn't understand everything that was going on, but he knew Alec was in trouble. And he knew that being touched hurt medium fella. So he decided to take Alec back to TC while he was still unconscious – less pain.

The dog-man scooped up his friend, dodged a few fist fights, and slipped out of the room with his precious burden. He would find out what happened to everyone else later.

------------------------

Mole enjoyed fighting as much as the next transhuman. He enjoyed shooting even more. However, even he had limits and he had reached them pretty quickly. Frustrated that White and his men didn't seem to stay down once they were down, he jerked his cigar out and threw it on the ground, ignoring the way it ignited the floor. In the end, this was probably what saved his group.

They fought bravely. They fought hard. They fought long. But in the end, it wouldn't be enough. They were tired and outnumbered and the people familiars they fought couldn't feel or react to the pain. They weren't going to win, and they knew it.

Almost before anyone realised it, fire was raging. Max had called for everyone and they all ran for the exits, noting that Joshua and Alec were already gone. Praying they were safe, Max made herself the last one out the door so she would have the opportunity of locking in White herself.

There were probably other exits for them to escape in, but the idea that she had actually left her arch-nemesis to die was strangely comforting to the X-5. She had a smile on her face when she arrived back in TC; it almost dripped away upon remembering why they'd met up with White in the first place.

"Where's Alec?" she asked Dix. "Is he alive? And Josh?"

"Medical center," came the terse reply.

She didn't wait for anything else. She took off running and stopped only when someone pointed Alec's door out to her. She almost prayed when she carefully turned the handle and started to enter.

"Wait," a low, rumbling voice said in her ear. It was Joshua. She turned her head to face him and but didn't move. "Medium fella still hurt," he said.

"I know, Josh," she responded in her best I'm-perfectly-under-control voice.

"May not want little fella to see him like this."

Before she could retort that she didn't care what he thought, she heard an agonised moan coming from inside the room. Her insides went cold.

"Tell me," she whispered, letting go of the door.

"Shot in the side," Joshua explained carefully. "And still having withdrawals from the drug. Very sick."

"Will he live?" she asked so softly no ordinary human could have heard it.

There was a long, painful silence then, made horrible only because Max knew what Joshua's reluctance to answer meant. He would never willingly lie to her. He couldn't.

A single tear slid unbidden down her cheek as she faced Alec's death for the second time in under a week.

------------------------

Author's Note: Sorry I wasn't able to reply to everyone who reviewed this time. But I appreciate all of your comments! You guys make me so happy!


	8. Chapter 8

It was the most horrific hour of Max's life. She originally would have given that honor to the last time Alec had been unconscious . . . was it only days ago? But she couldn't now. The last hour was far worse than that. It wasn't the waiting or uncertainty that was the problem, either. The real issue she was having was trying to decide whether or not she still wanted to visit her partner.

Honestly, it never should have taken an hour. It shouldn't even have taken ten minutes. But she was tired and her brain was sending mixed signals that led to deeper confusion. After Joshua had refused to tell her that Alec would be okay, she leaned back against the wall and let herself sort of drip to the floor, where she remained unmoving for the solid 60 minutes of her deliberation.

She did it all – the scientific method, listing pros and cons – and then a realisation hit her so suddenly it was almost physical. She had dumped Logan for Alec after he'd nearly killed himself getting the cure to make her happy. She'd charged blindly into a warehouse to rescue him from the clutches of White and his henchmen. She would do anything for this man that lay suffering only a few feet from where she sat.

And yet she knew he could die at any moment. Did she really want to have her last moments with him be the vision of watching him writhe on the table at the warehouse when she could have something so much more personal?

Max shot to her feet as though she had been zapped, and Mole, who had been coming down the hall to visit his friend, stopped dead in his tracks to look at her before beating a hasty retreat, muttering something about coming back at a more convenient time. The X5 never even noticed him as she gently used one finger to push the door open just far enough to peer in.

Alec looked a lot better than she expected. Yes, he was obviously ill. Yes, he had bandages still covering injuries. And yes, he practically twitched from the pain of the withdrawals. But he was so very alive and surprisingly conscious. His transgenic picked up the slight noise and he braved the agony of turning his head so he could see who was entering his room.

"Max," he whispered reverently.

The sound of his raspy voice broke the woman in question out of any reverie she may have otherwise been in. She bounded forward and dropped into the chair that someone had placed next to Alec's bed. A voice in her head commanded her to avoid touching his over-sensitised skin as she reached to give him the comfort of grasping his hand. She stopped just short of the contact she so desperately wanted.

Without his head moving at all, Alec's eyes lazily went to her hand, then back up to her face. He said nothing, although the exposed pain in his eyes – pain that he was too sick to attempt to hide behind his usual barriers – was more telling than any words he could have formed, anyway.

"You look good."

The words came completely unbidden from Max's lips. They were the last words in the world that she had expected to say. And, from the painful but amused chuckle that came from her companion, they clearly surprised him, too.

"I currently find that hard to believe," he choked out, the words sending fire up and down his throat as vocal cords rumbled against raw nerve endings.

"But you always look good," she retorted quickly, shocking herself again. Did she seriously say that out loud? Was that thing that filtered things between her brain and her mouth even working? So now her last moments with Alec were going to be among her most embarrassing. It was still worth it to spend the time with him.

"'Bout time," she heard a slow murmur, and she permitted herself a rare smile.

"It's about time you always look good?" she asked, feigning innocent naivete.

"'Bout time you realised," he answered, blinking very slowly as his eyes grew heavy.

"You need your rest," she said softly. "I should go."

Before she could move from her position, a hand that was far too warm, even for a transgenic, clasped her wrist where it lay on the bed from her failed attempt at touching him. His grip was strong but Max knew it was uncomfortable for Alec.

"Stay," he ordered through clenched teeth.

"All right, already," she answered easily, gently removing herself from him. "Don't cause yourself a hernia. All you had to do was ask."

He snorted out what passed for another chuckle as his eyes dipped closed. "You never explained yourself before," he said, though he was now slurring his words together from sleepiness.

Max understood what he'd said and knew exactly what he was talking about. They'd been in a situation quite similar to this not long ago, when she had admitted dumping Logan in favor of her partner-in-crime. Much to her relief, their conversation had been interrupted by Dix. She was not sure she would be so lucky twice in a row. However, knowing that these may very well be Alec's last few minutes, the leader of TC decided she could make the admission once more. But she needed some time to compose herself first.

"Explain myself?" she asked sweetly.

"Sounded like you said you dumped Logan," Alec murmured in response, eyes stubbornly staying closed.

"Oh, that. Uh, yes, I did."

His eyes fluttered but didn't open, and Max knew he was losing the fight to stay awake. Why not, when he likely wouldn't wake up again? She leaned in close so she was right next to his ear. "I realised I wanted to be with someone else," she whispered.

Alec's head turned slightly toward her, but she didn't even know if he was still conscious. And truthfully, she didn't care. Now that she had opened the flood gates, she couldn't close them. "I wanted to be with you," she said, moisture leaking from the corners of her eyes. When had she started crying? This whole day was ridiculous. "I think I fell in love with you," she finished shakily.

"You should tell people that sort of thing when they're awake," a voice said from the doorway.

Max whirled around, coming to her feet. One of the medics stood barely in the room, holding a handful of white cloths and some antiseptic.

"I'm here to change the bandages," he said as though it explained why he was eavesdropping on them.

She nodded and stepped back, watching his fingers pull the covers down far enough to reveal gauze with red seeping through. That must be the bullet wound. He carefully took it off, cleaning the puckered hole and replacing the cloth.

"How long does he have?" she asked, finally finding her voice, happy to hear it sounded stronger than she assumed it would.

His head whipped around, confusion in his face. "For what?"

"Isn't he . . . I mean . . . uh . . ."

"Is he what, Max? Recovering from a gunshot wound? Yes. Recovering from being made into a genetic experiment again? Yes. Recovering from broken ribs, broken fingers, a concussion, and recent surgery? Yes."

All of those words took a while to process. While still mulling them over, Max repeated the only thing that had stuck with her: "Recovering?"

"Well, yeah," the medic responded, realisation dawning as to what Max had thought was happening. He resisted the sudden impulse to laugh and instead put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah – recovering. He's going to live."

Max let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and collapsed bonelessly back into the chair, eyes resting on her unconscious companion. "Why did he –"

"I gave him something for the pain a while ago," the medic interrupted, sure now that he knew what he was being asked. "It knocked him out so he wouldn't have to suffer as much. He should wake up tomorrow feeling a lot better. This drug should be almost completely out of his system by then." He paused, searching her face, and added, "What made you think he was dying?"

"Josh said –"

"Ah," he interrupted again. "Yeah, he came in here and was confused by something I said. And before I could explain it, he'd left again. Sorry about that."

There was a moment of silence as all of this sank in. "Can I touch him without hurting him?" Max asked, one arm already going back for the hand that had grabbed her when she was getting ready to leave.

"That was the whole point of me sedating him into unconsciousness. He can't feel anything."

Encouraged, Max let her fingers slide over his cheek. "Poor Josh," she murmured.

The medic nodded. "I should probably tell him."

A sudden, relief-filled, loving smile creased Max's face. "Yeah, you should."

The medic was surprsied. He had expected TC's leader to offer to talk to Joshua. She usually did, after all. As though reading his thoughts, she turned to him. "I'd go, but I'm busy. And I'm not leaving here for a while."

"Max, he isn't going to wake up until tomorrow."

She grinned, her expression one usually reserved for giddy people who have just realised they are hopelessly in love. "And I'm going to be sitting here when he does."

Tomorrow, she would have to make her confession again, this time with Alec conscious. It would be a lot harder than it had this time. She might not even actually say the words if she could see his eyes. But she was determined to tell him.

The medic eventually shrugged and turned for the door. "I do not understand women," he muttered as he exited.

------------------------

Quick Author's Note: Hey, everyone – sorry it's been a while! I wrote a slightly longer chapter in an attempt to make up for my tardiness. Thanks again for the great reviews!


	9. Chapter 9

Her eyes fluttered open and she was alarmed until she remembered where she was – still sitting at Alec's bedside. He was asleep, but there was movement beneath his eyelids as though he were waking up and she guessed that was what had awakened her. Max gently let go of his hand on the off-chance that it would cause him pain. She refused to do that to him any more.

"Alec?" she prodded softly, hoping to rouse him.

His nose scrunched up as though waking wasn't something he had intended to do for a while, and then Max saw the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen – slits of hazel peeking out from under incredible eyelashes. She audibly gasped at her train of thought. When had she turned into such a sap? Alec would probably be physically ill if she ever told him she'd thought those things about him. Those would have to be kept to herself.

So naturally, completely in control of herself, the first thing she said was: "You have the most gorgeous eyes."

Cursing her stupidity, she kept her eyes riveted on him to see his reaction. Thankfully, he wasn't alert yet and likely would never remember her saying that.

"Max?" he rasped out, trying to take in his surroundings without coming fully awake.

"Yeah," she answered, holding a straw up to his mouth to wet his throat. "How do you feel?"

He blinked, and when his eyes opened again, they came open all the way, though still a bit groggy. "Better," he said. "It doesn't hurt to breathe any more."

"Does anything hurt too much? We can get you more pain meds."

The side of his mouth quirked into a half-smirk. "I'm guessing I'm already doped to the gills. I can't feel a thing."

At that, and before she could let herself decide not to, Max slipped her fingers through Alec's. His face suddenly became a mask of unreadable emotion as his eyes travelled downward. "What are you doing?" he asked in confusion more than anything else.

"I thought you said you couldn't feel anything."

"Pain. I meant pain."

At that moment, Max realised for the first time that there was a chance Alec didn't return her feelings. After all, she hadn't been giving him hints of her undying love. She may have stopped beating on him as regularly, but he could very well have assumed that was because he'd been spending half of his time as a guest in the medical center. Perhaps he was even in love with another woman. "I'm sorry," she muttered, trying to disentangle herself from his hand.

But he refused to let go. "Not yet," he said sharply, his voice coming back stronger. "I think, when I was so rudely drugged yesterday, you were about to tell me something about dumping Logan."

"Yeah," she responded, hoping he would give her some sort of sign of his feelings by the look on his face. He didn't. He was going to make her spill her heart before he let his emotions out. "I did dump him."

"And?" Alec prodded after a moment of silence.

"And I wanted to be with someone else."

Alec nodded almost mechanically, letting go of her hand. "Sorry I distracted you from that."

Max permitted herself to smile as the depth of his words sank in. He had accidentally revealed his feelings for her before he admitted to anything. And now he figured she was in love with someone besides him. The idiot.

She leaned closer, enough to make even Alec uncomfortable for invading his personal space. "The only reason you should be sorry is that you were unconscious for most of it."

He gave her an odd look and tried unsuccessfully to push his head farther back into the pillow to get away. Max laughed.

"Must be the drugs," she murmured. "Otherwise, you are really dense."

His eyes twitched almost imperceptibly in response, and she knew she had finally made her point clear enough for him to understand. "But the cure--"

"Worked," she interrupted. "Now I can use Logan for my new punching bag and I can use my old punching bag for . . . something else."

He finally grinned, relief washing all over his exhausted but handsome features. "What did you have in mind?" he asked suggestively, wagging one eyebrow at her.

There was a time, only days ago, when she would have punched Alec for that kind of comment. Now, though, it served to endear him to her heart even more. "I'm not completely sure yet," she said as she let her lips brush his ever so slightly. "But one thing I do know is that I have plenty of time to figure it out while you heal." And she pulled back, sitting straight up in her chair.

"What?" he said in disbelief, his voice suddenly as scratchy as it had been when he'd first awakened, only now for entirely different reasons.

"You heard me. You have broken ribs and a concussion and a gunshot wound and your body is still recovering from that drug White gave you. You shouldn't be doing anything but lay there."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm genetically engineered to heal quickly," he whined.

Max laughed. He was so adorable when he whined. Not that she'd ever tell him that. "Not _that_ quickly. But don't worry; you're not going anywhere." He huffed, and she laughed again. "Poor baby," she cooed. "I bet I could smuggle in some pizza for you."

His eyes lit up like a little boy in a candy store. She should have known that would be the best way to get to him. "Would you?"

She got to her feet and put one hand on his arm, surprised at the jolt of fire she felt race through her fingers where she touched him. "Only for you," she said without missing a beat as she walked toward the door. "Now get some rest. I need you completely healed up soon."

"I will be, Max," he answered. "I will be."

------------------------

NOTE: Thanks for reading, everyone. I know, the ending is a bit sappy (which is totally unlike me) and quick. I'm thinking of doing another story but I have no idea what to do yet so it may be a while. If you have ideas you'd like to share, send them my way! Thanks again, especially to those who reviewed! I appreciate you!


End file.
